Athena and Victoria

This is the first of 3 or 4 proms this season. It will be a busy spring!

we got our chicks!

Computers in my head self portrait!

Too much computer work and none of it very much fun!

The kids however have taken some great pictures today and they are posted on Musings.

April's Student Newsletters are finished!

This is the monthly newsletter the students produce. It has their articles, reports and photographs in it.

While running errands today...

I was just extra aware of all the intense colors that are blooming around the city. Very warm days, with wet nights have led to an absolute explosion of color! It is hard to get great pictures while driving :)

Gravity? What's that.....

I think I should start requiring him to wear a helmet unless he is asleep.

Another Good, Bad and Ugly kinda day....

This first one is The Good, he is wearing his helmet.

Then, The Bad, busted! No helmet......excuse 'it's not as dangerous over here'......

And The Ugly, the upstairs toilet overflowed last night and this was the thump that woke us up at 4:30am!!!! I am glad there is only one week left before spring break!

Healthy never looked so good!

Athena and I have been cooking up a storm today (more about that on Ponderings, later). We were given a package of Pamela's Products Chocolate Brownie Mix, and decided to follow the bundt cake recipe on the label. This cake is basicly rice flour, honey, and molasses. It tastes as good as it looks.

Flowers at night....

I am not happy with the focus, but I love the sky behind the flowers a lot.

Ducks!

When we got back from the musical today this pair were in the driveway just waiting for me to take their picture! I think they are the pair that use our creek every spring. It is good to see them again.

Dinner with my favorite toddler again.....

I really love going to church on Wednesday nights. There are usually about 20 of us that range in age from almost 2 yrs old, pushing 100 yrs old. We sit around and eat family style and then talk about different topics for an hour or so. During Lent we have really been focusing on Creation Theology. Cool stuff and good people!!!

Double bouquet

I loved looking at the reflection all day.
These came out of the goat pen! The ones in my yard don't even have buds yet. Guess I know the value of fertilizer now :)

He knows how to use a land phone :)

When you no longer have use of a cell phone, you learn to adapt to ancient technologies.

Harp Music...

We had harp music at church today. Actually, we had a whole chamber quartet. It was for a Requium, that was just amazingly woven through the service.

First Fire of the Year...

..in the outside firepit that is. Athena had a few girls over after the dance competition for a late birthday party. Nathan built them a nice fire in the pit. They didn't stay out too long though because they got cold.

Movie night with Nathan....

Nathan asked me to take him to the theatre to meet some friends and since it is fairly far from our house I decided to treat myself to a movie too. 300 was sold out again, I was a little too late for Ghost Rider, way too early for Daddy's Little Girls and Bridge to Terabithia....so I ended up at I Think I Love My Wife. It is worth watching, but not paying theatre prices for unless you can afford it and want to encourage movies that make people think deeply about family and choices. It is not for those under 13 even though my showing was full of them, the language is a bit rough and a few scenes are suggestive.

Gabe's Boston Cream Doughnuts

Gabe decided that he was going to put Krispy Kreme out of business today after making the best doughnuts any of us had ever tasted! They had a light and fluffy egg dough with a perfect vanilla cream filling topped with just a bit of dark chocolate glaze.

Caught in the act....

...of sneaking more stuffed grape leaves.....

Feeling creative....

Athena taught me a few things about paint shop and I taught her a few of the things I have been learning about photoshop. It was time for another self portrait.

Athena's new sign....

I came down this morning and saw that Athena had made a new sign for the kitchen. I thought, "Ha! That will never work!" Yet, here it is 10pm and when I went in to clean the kitchen this is what I found. Maybe she's on to something :)


PS...I am doing the deadly sins, but I decided since I want to write so much about them I am posting them on Ponderings so that the 365 stays mostly about pictures.

Another Dance Competition

This is Nathan lifting Athena during their group jazz dance. I will have other dance pictures on my Leftovers page sometime tomorrow. I am wiped out after another 14 hours of straight dance...and I do is watch and take care of costumes....

Kindness

Kindness (Latin, patientia) (peace, opposes wrath, Latin ira) —
Forbearance and endurance through moderation. Resolving conflicts peacefully, as opposed to resorting to violence. The ability to forgive; to show mercy to sinners.

I have been trying to catch the kids solving a problem together all week, but they have had such a great week that nothing was obvious or I missed it. So I took a picture of the books I use to teach conflict resolution and the ones that have taught me patience. I thought they would improve my parenting and teaching,b ut they imporved ALL my relationships.


I was telling a friend that this was my last virtue picture and he said maybe I should tackle the 7 deadly sins next. Given that is Lent and I am really like the challenge of matching words to pictures I am going to do it. I will post the seven sins and their definitions on Ponderings.

Humility

Humility (Latin, humilitas) (modesty, opposes pride, Latin superbia)
Modest behavior, selflessness, and the giving of respect. Giving credit where credit is due; not unfairly glorifying one's own self.

I thought this would be a kindness picture, but when I read the definitions again I changed my mind. These two decided themselves to 'clean-up and put the books back in order' to make sure they were all there. I try and 'catch' the kids doing these little selfless acts of kindness and they are giving respect to me and their study space.

We take a break from our regularly scheduled virtue....

Happy 17th Birthday!

All she wanted was a DQ Ice Cream Cake, so she got it and shared it at lunch time.

More photos....

I know you all just can't get enough, lol, so I just posted my very own spring flowers on Leftovers and a few new shots from the kids on Musings.

Patience

Patience (Latin, humanitas) (satisfaction, opposes envy, Latin invidia) —
Charity, compassion, friendship, and sympathy without prejudice and for its own sake.

Not only do ALL these word describe Em, she inspires these traits in others. I have seen the roughest, rudest teen boys you can imagine spend just a few minutes with Em and they are changed forever...at least in her presence :)

Abstinence

Abstinence (Latin, frenum) (self-control, opposes gluttony, Latin gula) —
Constant mindfulness of others and one's surroundings; practicing self-control, abstention, and moderation.

1/2 a mug of chicken noodle soup and a few crackers....so it fits moderation :)

Diligence

Diligence (Latin, industria) (ethics, opposes sloth, Latin acedia) —
A zealous and careful nature in one's actions and work. Decisive work ethic. Acting energetically without excessive reflection.

This puzzle is being worked on each day during Literature time. I thought it went really well with the Acting energetically without excessive reflection because they are really listening and processing the story, the puzzle just keeps their hand active so their minds can be still.

Liberality

Liberality (Latin, liberalitas) (will, generosity, opposes greed, Latin avaritia) —
Generosity. Willingness to give. A nobility of thought or actions.

Chastity

Chastity (Latin, castitas) (purity, opposes lust, Latin luxuria) —
Courage and boldness. Embracing of moral wholesomeness and achieving purity of thought through education and betterment. Practicing proper love and its expression due to one's spiritual vocation.

I know it is kind of corny, but after more than 23 years he still completes me and makes me whole because of his love.

March moon

I was inspired to try again. The full moon was so pretty tonight, glowing through the clouds.

My Knights in Bright Armor :)

These two worked so hard today! They made triple berry scones in the morning, read about knights, researched helmets and shields, made their own and then spared all afternoon. Not to mention that they cleaned up not only their kitchen mess, but also their construction mess without being asked! They lighten my heart everyday they are here!

Nathan leaving for FL.

Nathan and Athena are dancing this weekend at a National dance competition in FL. Athena and my sister are already there, Nathan is riding the bus down with the team. It will be a very quiet weekend.